Life of Riley

 

Who WAS Riley, anyway?  Somebody consult the Google machine and let me know if what I do qualifies.

Today, my list of 'stuff to do' went something like this:

Drop off Mike at WOC
Work out
Sunbathe
Swim in the pool
Sunbathe some more
Finish my novel
Marinate the steaks for dinner
Laundry (one teeny-tiny load)
Check on the Las Vegas Temple schedule so we know when we need to head that way on Friday
Write kids (or blog)

Yeah, it kind of seems like it to me.

Mike is attending the World of Concrete Expo.  It's in Las Vegas, so we get to come and spend time at the Grand Desert Resort.  It's not really special, but it IS nice.  No smokey casino, close parking (wonky elevators!) good kitchen facilities.

We got here Monday afternoon, Feb 2.  Happy  Groundhog Day!  We celebrated by having Kim and Terri come over and join us for dinner.  Mike grilled some steaks, they brought salad and dessert AND games!  So we had a really good time visiting and playing with them.

Tuesday, we agreed to attend a breakfast/meeting with the Wyndham folks.  It was short and sweet.  Little updates on what's available, etc.   And breakfast was nice. I have to remember not to eat EVERYthing, so I just had eggs and sausage and juice.  And cocoa.  Instead of Eggs, potatoes, bacon sausage, muffins, etc. We did bring most of our groceries from home, so meals were already planned, and they are nice ones, too.
But guess what we got for attending and listening for about a half hour???!!  Two free tickets vouchers to see the Donny and Marie Show at the Flamingo.  I know Donna says she wouldn't be interested in seeing it, but I grew up with those kids and like them.  So that's what I did that day after dropping off Mike a the Convention Center--attempted to redeem the vouchers for real tickets.  I just took the free shuttle from here to Harrah's, then walked to the Flamingo and wandered around a while there.  I finally made my way through the habitat and enjoyed the McCaws, turtles, flamingos, ducks, geese, swans, koi and other large fishies, ibis, etc.  Even walked around the under-construction pool site.  Pretty nice.  Lots of concrete--hey!  Shoulda brought Mike! :-)
I also saw two topless women, standing on the strip, inviting people to have their photos taken with them.  Can it get any worse?  That was a first for me.  I thought they limited the topless girls (they had on pasties) to the stage.  And they did look young... Yes, rather disturbing. There is much in Vegas to be disturbed about.
However, Donny and Marie were not disturbing at all!  Mike got done at the WOC and I picked him up, he had a quick nap, we ate a light dinner in our room, and then we headed out.  They do that show more than once a night and work so hard.  Personally, I don't see how they keep it so "fresh," doing it day after day after day.  And somehow they were voted #1 in Vegas.  I don't know what qualities they were being ranked on, but NOT on par with Cirque, for sure.  Anyway, I'm glad we went. It was fun and a nice trip down memory lane.

We took the time on Tuesday night to go see the fountains at the Bellagio and to walk through the conservatory. It was "dressed up" for Chinese New Year.  Lots of reds and yellows. And goats.  The fountains were nice.  Then home and to bed.  Or to tv. Lots more channels at home, so we've been able to catch a few fun Hallmark movies.

Wednesday, I finally made it to the pool. I was going to work on my WORK there while sunbathing, but couldn't get things working on the computer the way I needed it to.  So I gave up.  Just played all day.  We invited Steve Sorensen over for dinner, but he had class until   6:45, so Mike and I went to a free magic show at the resort from 7 to 7:45 and then met Steve and had dinner in our room.  Spaghetti.  It was fun to catch up with what he's been up to lately.  And his family.  He was going back to work after he left us, so we didn't visit or play games any later.  I forgot to pack games, anyway, so its a good thing that Kim and Terri brought theirs on Monday!!

Thursday and things are starting to wind down. Mike didn't have any classes at the WOC, but needed to shop for some things at the exhibit hall. Tonight we have more friends coming over for dinner (Don and Keala Cupp).  In past years, Don has met Mike and attended the Expo for a day or so with him, but this year it's just dinner at our place.

Mike's soaking in the hot tub by the pool, hopefully soothing his sore knees, while I type nearby.  There's no sunshine this time of night between the tall canyon-wall type buildings surrounding the pool area, but the hot tub is very hot.

And I don't remember hearing so much noise from the nearby airport when we've been here before. McCarran is very busy and we are right under the flight path. It's almost impossible to carry in a conversation while outside around the pool.  good thing I was mostly just reading!  Also, the take-offs and landings used to be in an east-west pattern, but now they are doing more of a north-south.

We DO eat really well while we're here. I haul tons of food from our house, and Mike shopped for some things before we left (the steaks, mostly). I have read one novel so far (Gerald Lund's The Guardian), started one more (Josi Kilpack's Devil's Food Cake), and they are E BOOKS!  Yes, I have finally made a jump to reading on the tablet I got for Christmas. It's been working out well. I sometimes (well, all during this vacation) read my scriptures on it at night.  It's been fun.  I have an account with our state library system where they offer lots of ebooks, but there seem to be long waiting lists for the popular fiction things.  I have found that the lists go fast, so the waits are  not long. I know Kindle has free ebooks,but you sure have to wade through a lot of trash to find decent free ones.  So I'll stick to the library where I can search and sort. Haven't figured out how to do that with Kindles. Yet.

Tomorrow the Life of  Riley ends. We have to check out at 10.  We plan to attend a temple session while we're down here. Then we go home to the real world. And real work.
Hmmm, perhaps one of the things I should be reading on  my table while gone is my Primary lesson for Sunday... :-)

Below:  At the Flamingo Wildlife Habitat

Ibis

Brown California Pelicans

Below: NOT at the Flamingo Habitat --Ha!  Me and Mike in the hot tub. Ahhhhh.  I made us frozen fruit smoothies (I told you we eat good while we're down there!) and the cold drink really helped.  I think that's the longest I've ever managed to stay put in a 102 degree hot tub.

For some reason, only one flip-flop made it into my suitcase while packing for this week in Vegas.  So I wore tennis shoes to the pool.  It's a nice look, don't you think?